April 02, 2022

Uncle Sucker: Why U.S. Efforts at Defense Burden-Sharing Fail

59 minutes

U.S. leaders have complained for decades that allies aren't pulling their weight. Countries like Germany have become infamous for underinvesting in their own defense, effectively shifting their defense burdens onto American soldiers and taxpayers. Occasional commitments by allies to do better have often gone unmet, and the most likely path to wide European compliance with NATO's shared 2% of GDP spending target is through reactions to Russian actions, not American goading. Why have so many U.S. leaders failed to induce significant burden sharing?

Justin Logan is a senior fellow at the Cato Institute. He is an expert on U.S. grand strategy, international relations theory, and American foreign policy. His current research focuses on the shifting balance of power in Asia—specifically with regard to China—and the limited relevance of the Middle East to U.S. national security.

He has authored numerous policy studies and articles on topics including international relations theory, U.S.-China policy, U.S.-Russia policy, stabilization and reconstruction operations, and the policy approaches to a nuclear Iran. His articles have appeared in International Security, the Journal of Strategic Studies, Strategic Studies Quarterly, Foreign Policy, the National Interest, the Harvard International Review, Orbis, the Foreign Service Journal, National Review, Politico Magazine, and the American Prospect, among others.

Logan holds a master’s degree in international relations from the University of Chicago and a bachelor’s degree in international relations from American University.

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By The John Quincy Adams Society